𝐈𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬

CHAPTER FORTY

FORTY

Cause it feels like my eyes are open
And it feels like I'm on my feet
Yes, it feels like my soul revival
Your love's reviving me...

LARISA

Waking up was one thing I'd recently learned to dread. I hated having to see a new day, only to spend it obsessing over making sure my secret never got out. An effort that proved futile, by the way, because now, my entire friend group knew. If not the whole world.

Much to my surprise today, I woke up without the feeling of fear or tension. I woke up feeling very light, like a weight had been lifted off me. I looked beside me and neither Iris nor Willow was anywhere to be found. My space felt very quiet, as opposed to the noise building up from girls running helter skelter in a bid to get ready for the day.

When the buzz had reduced, and a number of girls had already filed out of the room to God-only-knows-where—considering it was Sunday and we had no lineup of activities whatsoever—I willed myself to get off my bed and do something productive with my life.

"Something productive" equalled having a shower and fixing myself up. The activity took barely twenty minutes, but by the time I was done wearing my clothes and applying cream and perfume, there were less than ten girls in the room apart from me, and Willow and Iris casually strolled in, each holding food plates.

"Good morning," I greeted, while both girls sat on the floor next to my bed, prompting me to join them.

"You're finally awake." That was Willow, while Iris unpacked the food they brought. I nodded, managing a smile. She continued, "We figured we'd let you sleep in, considering the events of yesterday. And well, it's a free day."

I nodded in response, grateful for the small gesture of not waking me. I hadn't realized I needed serious rest until I woke up this morning all refreshed. When Iris was done unpacking, a silence settled among the three of us. I could tell, by looking at them, that it was in no way a comfortable silence. They wanted to say something and I knew it. I picked a plate of Jollof rice and placed on my laps.

"You know, if you want to say some—"

"Hey, Larisa. I just want to let you know that we don't see you any differently than the amazing person you are." Iris cut in before I could say what I wanted to. I nodded a bit skeptically although I found the situation a bit funny. Willow started to talk when a girl I was sure I'd seen with Funkẹ them, badmouthing Iris approached us and gave Iris a hug.

"I just wanted to say congratulations," she spoke in a ridiculously high pitched voice, Iris, on the other hand looked confused. "For your—you know—pregnancy." With that and a teasing sly smile, she was off. Now, Willow's as well as my eyes were on Iris, both of us waiting for some sort of explanation.

I mean, I already found out she was pregnant, but how did the other girl know?

"You guys weren't supposed to find out like this." Iris sighed defeatedly, then pulled out her phone and showed us a screenshot of a slide from her boyfriend's Instagram story. It was a screenshot of their private messages in which she informed him of the pregnancy, posted by Jared himself and captioned with a paragraph that essentially insinuated she was sleeping around and pinning a fatherless child on him, publicly ending the relationship and humiliating her as well. I recoiled in disgust.

"I'm guessing the whole world knows." Iris added.

"So why did that one come here to show herself?" I heard myself saying, disgusted by the unfairness of everything. I was a hundred percent sure now, that the baby was Jared's. And he just had to take the issue to social media, of all places. Rubbish.